New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur took time away from his Thursday morning to speak with the Bay Area media about his team's upcoming Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers. With the Giants sitting at 1-7, Shurmur, like head coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers, hopes for a second-half-of-the-season surge.
"There have been teams that have had great turnarounds in the second half of the season, and we intend to be one of those," Shurmur said via a conference call.
One of those teams was last year's 49ers squad. Much of that was thanks to the acquisition of a new quarterback. Last Thursday night, another new face, Nick Mullens, made his 49ers (and NFL) debut at quarterback. He led San Francisco to a 34-3 victory over the visiting Oakland Raiders and will get the start on Monday night against Shurmur's Giants.
"I thought Nick had a terrific game," Shurmur said. "He has now the respect of a young man that's won a game in the NFL, and he obviously understands the system well. He executed it at a very high level. He got big plays, but he also did the things that a quarterback needs to do to move the ball.
"I'm sure they're pleased with what he did because they're giving him his second start. But yeah, I thought he did a terrific job for his first time out."
The Giants are coming off of their bye week, so Shurmur has had plenty of time to prepare for Nick Mullens and the 49ers. He has also had ample time to study Shanahan.
"I've always thought he was a good play caller," Shurmur said. "He's a little unpredictable, at times, which is good. I think that's an important piece. They feature the players that they feel are the good players and can help them win.
"They like their fullback quite a bit. They feature a two-back set probably more than other teams. They've got a really good tight end. They've got a speedy wideout [...] They just do a good job of doing what they do, and I think that helps them, as well."
The 49ers and Giants kick off from Levi's Stadium on Monday, November 12 at 5:15 p.m. PT.
Comments